


You Take My Breath Away

by Scarlet_Gunn



Category: Back to the Future (Movies)
Genre: Ambiguous Age, BAMF Marty, CPR, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation, Declarations Of Love, Do More Research On CPR, Dorks in Love, Each Chapter Switches POV, Fix-It of Sorts, Fluff, Happy Ending, I Did Research and Had A Class, I Ship It, I Tried, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I'm not a doctor, Kinda?, Love Confessions, M/M, Mammett, Marty Deserves More Love, Marty McFly Needs A Hug, Marty's Injuries And Trauma Get Acknowledged, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, POV Third Person, They love each other, Time-Traveling Duo, Too Many Allusions To Lightning And Time Travel, Underage Relationship(s), but that's it, faulty science, he gets one, point of view change
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-08-16
Packaged: 2021-03-06 08:06:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,058
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25930093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Scarlet_Gunn/pseuds/Scarlet_Gunn
Summary: After the chaos of their adventures from the three films, Doc and Marty are back in the lab finally getting some peace, to accept that each other is safe and to bask in their pining. However, after a shocking accident and some CPR, Marty and Doc finally talk about their feelings.
Relationships: Emmett "Doc" Brown/Marty McFly
Comments: 14
Kudos: 52





	1. Songs Of Love And Injury

**Author's Note:**

  * For [JohnlockedDancer](https://archiveofourown.org/users/JohnlockedDancer/gifts).



> Hello everyone! First off, I just want to apologize to JohnlockedDancer, because you requested this prompt literally months ago and I am so sorry I am just now getting it out there. So I definitely hope you enjoy it! Second off, I took an unwilling hiatus because of the severe case of writer's block I had. But I am so so happy to be back! And hopefully posting more, if not exactly regularly. And thirdly, I hope you all enjoy this story. I rewatched all three movies so I feel like they're more in character but I'm not too sure. Either way, I am actually kinda proud of this story. Enjoy!

Marty watched with lidded eyes as Doc paced from the toolbox to the amp system. With the chaos of the last week, or a couple of hundred years when speaking chronologically, this was the first time the amp received any attention. And Marty was thrilled to just sit back and watch Doc in his element. Better yet, Marty was thrilled to just watch  _ Doc.  _ Period. Too many times he’d almost lost his best friend. Had to relive the same nightmare as Doc was either hurt, threatened, disappeared, or killed. The Lybians, getting shocked by lightning, getting trapped in 1885, almost getting  _ shot _ in 1885, all of the faintings and falling, almost getting shot  _ again  _ in 1885, and then that stupid stunt with the train to save Clara.

That was the first time through all of this that Marty truly believed he wouldn’t see Doc again. 

He remembers staring at the scattered parts of the DeLorean, heart still thrumming from another near-death experience and from being back in his own time again, and the only thought he had was that he’d never see Doc again. It had all been for nothing. The back and forth through time, all the head injuries, each fight against a Tannen, the constant threat of death and messing up the “space-time continuum”, all of it to fix his mistakes and save Doc. And he wasn’t even  _ there.  _ He had failed. And now Doc was gone. The grief of it all had wrapped around him tighter than Mad Dog’s noose and he had choked on it. Unable to cry but desperately feeling the need to. What was the point of living in a time without Doc?

A loud crash to his left jolted Marty out of his head. His heart stuttering and tense and his eyes manic looking for the threat, only to focus back on Doc at the sound of his muttered curse. The scientist was doubled over, one hand grabbing at the fallen wrench while the other gently nudged a concerned Einie away. Laughing to himself as his adrenaline faded, Marty sunk back into the couch cushions. Standing back up Doc caught his eye and gave an apologetic smile, warm eyes squinting with concern once he noticed Marty’s lingering tension. Asking a silent question. Marty smiled and waved him off in answer, with fond warmth pulsing at his heart. “ _ Well, it’s a good thing I’ll never have to find out.”  _ Marty sighed softly as Doc went back to work, letting his fingers fiddle with the guitar in his lap, strumming out a couple of notes that were coming to mind. 

Familiar and lulling the music gave the makeshift lab a more intimate feeling. Warm background noise to accompany the click of metal and Einie’s soft snores.

It was only when he felt himself begin to hum did he notice just what he was playing, the beginning chords to Earth Angel. Oh. 

Marty chewed on his lip and snuck a glance at Doc as if he would suddenly know,  _ “Did he know? God, please, don’t let him actually notice anything for once”,  _ only to freeze. 

Doc was bent over the amp, fingers tangling wires this way and that with his mouth keeping hold of the screwdriver. His white hair was pinned down by his goggles and his brows were furrowed, he looked like he always did. Messy and wild, like electricity. Like science and time-travel. His hair looked softer as it defied gravity, his arms bare from the rolled-up sleeves looking strong and well built from heavy lifting and their time spent in the 1800s and his eyes. Jesus, his eyes. The dark dark brown gained a brilliant warmth from the extra light, as they flitted around the belly of the amp, checking the numerous pieces. Marty always thought of sparklers, the kind from the Fourth of July, when he looked at Doc’s eyes. Though recently he could only see lightning or glinting metal. All in all, Doc was a sight. 

“ _ Earth Angel, Earth Angel, will you be mine?” _ The lyric came to mind unintentionally but looking at Doc, he couldn’t help but find it fitting. 

Probably feeling the intense stare he was giving him, Doc looked up at Marty. Remembering himself, Marty chuckled shakily and gave Doc a lopsided smile, appeasing the scientist enough to go back to work but Marty kept staring. 

Throughout their time travels - heh, time travels, time-travel, oh God Marty was losing it, probably all the head trauma - they had never really talked about the  _ something _ that was between the two of them. To be fair there hadn’t really been a good time between all the fourth-dimensional thinking and  _ almost-dying _ , to pull Doc aside and say “I know you probably see me as just a stupid kid but I think I’ve loved you since I was 15” or “Hey, wanna make-out?”. But Marty thought there should’ve been some mention of it. Or at least about Marty’s thing. Because Doc had to know. He was a genius for Christ’s sakes and well, Marty hadn’t exactly been subtle. “ _ Especially not about Clara,”  _ Marty winced at that thought. It’s not that he didn’t like Clara, she was a very sweet woman. And she would’ve been a good fit for Doc. He just never liked the way she looked at him, or how Doc got all flustered when she was around. Not to mention the fact that Doc  _ danced  _ with her. Marty didn’t even think Doc could dance and yet he can still remember the way he twirled her around the platform. Without another thought to Marty. 

Yeah, he wasn’t subtle at all.

Doc was probably not mentioning anything to be polite or spare his feelings. But that’s okay. Marty can take a hint and honestly he was just happy to be back to normal again. No intense danger, no Biff or Tanner relatives, and no Clara. Just Doc inventing in his lab with Marty playing guitar and Einstein sleeping in his basket. Marty took another glance at Doc’s form with a smile. “ _ No one else needed.”  _

Content, Marty let his attention wander back to playing. Marvin Barry’s voice crooning in the back of his mind with an image of him and Doc dancing in time. 


	2. A Fool With A Shocking Devotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Doc's point of view. A bit shorter, but I think Marty covered most of the plotline bases.

Emmett could feel Marty staring at him. His eyes might’ve been trained on the amp’s circuits but he knew the kid was looking at him again. Ever since the DeLorean was destroyed, and he found himself back in ‘85, the  _ correct  _ ‘85 this time, his Future Boy had been different. Doc shook his head at that thought, Marty was in no way  _ his, _ the only tie the two had other than colleagues was friends, best friends at that.  _ “Your only friend other than Einstein.” _ Nevertheless, Marty, just Marty not his, had definitely been off since their recent adventures. Not that Emmett could  _ blame  _ him after all he’d been through.  _ “After all, I put him through, that is,”.  _ He winced at that reminder, tightening his grip on his wrench. His boy,  _ dammit,  _ had had to face too many dangers in the past week all from his own infernal idiocy. His chest felt tight as he thought about it.

  
The fact that he had  _ watched Doc die _ , only to be thrown back in time scared and alone. With his younger-self unaware of what he’d been through and unable to provide comfort. All of the run ins with Biff or his relatives, God only knows how Marty dealt with them so calmly when at his first meeting with the family Emmett barely smothered the urge to deck Mad Dog (an urge that turned  _ murderous  _ when he saw Marty at the end of that rope, time-stream be damned that man would’ve died if Marty had been hurt any worse). And then there was the entire debacle with his children and that hellish alternate Hill Valley. Emmett couldn’t decide which part of that nightmare haunted him more; seeing the defeated and shambled life that Marty could’ve crashed into, and the distinct lack of himself by the boy’s side, or Marty’s desperate and grief-stricken panic when he discovered his father’s grave and the details of AHill Valley.

The image of Marty’s body shot down, the only thing to catch him being the dust of the ground and Doc too far away to  _ do  _ anything, flashed in his mind making him flinch. A violent clang next to his foot sounded too much like a body hitting ground as Doc tried to push back the image. That settled that then. He felt his hands tremble along with his heart.  _ “He’s fine you old fool, and so much braver,smarter,loyal, and stupidersostupidstupid than you credit him with.”  _ Swearing to himself he bent over to snatch at the wrench, eyes flickering and then catching Marty’s.  _ “And so much prettier too,” “NO”,  _ Emmett swallowed down that thought with a smile at Marty. 

The boy, young man now really, gave a smile in return but Doc noticed the tension in his shoulders and the heaviness in his eyes. The sound of the wrench must have startled him. Doc felt something in him twist at that, knowing that Marty would still carry the echoes of the dangers he faced, every loud noise sounding more like a gunshot, god he couldn’t blame the kid if he was scared of lightning at this point, but Marty only broadened his smile and waved him off. Forgiven without even a thought. His stomach felt warm at that as he went back to the amp. He truly did not deserve Marty in his life, especially not as his companion.

But Doc knew what would happen if he tried to distance himself or give Marty his freedom to make friends his own age,  _ “I’d just be tracked down and dragged back,”  _ his thoughts fond. He stole a glance at the other as the sound of a guitar filled the room, only to be rewarded with his Future Boy’s smile again. He felt something in his soul settle and pulse at that smile. Yes, as much as a hassle living in 1885 was and how horrified he was at the idea of trapping Marty with him in the past, he couldn't describe how thankful he was to had have Marty back by his side again and how much just seeing the young man made his heart swell and his devotion to getting home flare. Marty had chosen him over and over again throughout their travels and Emmett knew he would always choose him in return. He might’ve done an abysmal job of protecting him in the past but now that they were both safe and at home again, he was going to keep his Future Boy close. 

With his mental promise, Emmett twisted the wire he was holding with a flourish, only to realize his mistake when a fiery current shot through his fingers and looped his heart. The world around him warbled as his senses filled with white noise and the smell of toast/fried hair. His body convulsing violently while the taste of blood coated his mouth. It was only when his vision flooded with white, like lightning, before drowning in darkness did he finally stop feeling anything at all.


	3. Take My Breath And Mix It With Yours

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Marty's POV for how he deals with Doc getting hurt, again.

Marty had never heard Doc scream. Which maybe explains why when he finally heard it, he didn’t understand what it was. He only knew that it made his blood freeze and stomach drop and that it made him more afraid than anything else had in his life. Marty jumped up at the scream, Einie's whines echoing his fear, but it was the thump and silence that made his body finally move. Doc was on the floor twitching and gasping, and sounding wet when Marty flung himself down next to him with a shout of his own. 

  
“DOC!” His hands immediately went to cradle the older man’s head, fingers grasping at wily hair, was it  _ smoking?,  _ blindly searching for an injury or blood. “Doc! Please, Doc, say something, anything!” His fingers came away dry as Marty swiped Doc’s hair down in a frantic motion as he took in Doc’s motionless body and the small gathering of spit around his mouth. He didn’t look to be breathing. 

“Oh god, no no no nononono,” Marty’s hand kept brushing Doc’s hair as his eyes began to sting, “Doc! Please, wake up! I don’t know what to do, you’re the doc Doc, not me! I don’t know what to do - I don’t, I need you to, Jesus I DON’T KNOW!” 

Marty felt his breathing grow quicker and shallower as his vision became fuzzy, eyes still locked on Doc’s still chest. 

_ “Marty! Great Scott don’t touch that, that’s a live wire!” Doc grabbed Marty by the wrists and tugged him away from the electrical disaster in the lab. His wild eyes did a quick assessment of Marty’s safety before going warm again. “Honestly Marty, you have to be more cautious before you start grabbing things. Think before you leap, dear boy. Performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is not my idea of a productive Sunday morning.”  _

_ Marty just flashed Doc a smile and shrugged sheepishly. “Sorry Doc, I’ll try to be more careful. But what the hell is Cardio-pulp-mona Resusi-something you said?”  _

_ “Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation?” _

_ “ _ _ Yeah, that!” _

_ Marty noticed the way Doc tried not to smile as he continued, “You’d know it as CPR, and if you had been electrocuted I would have had to perform it on you.” _

_ “Oh, yeah learned that in First Aid, it’s that compressions and breathing thing?” _

_ “Precisely, Marty. 2 breaths every 15 compressions, with your hands in a triangle shape on the chest.” Doc did the motion with his hands as his arms pushed down and then up in the air. “Hopefully you’ll never need to perform it yourself, but better safe than sorry.”  _

_ “Like that time with the acid and our clothes?” _ _   
_ _   
_ _ “ _

_ Marty, we promised each other we’d never mention that again.” His words were a reproach but Marty could tell he was a moment away from laughing.  _

_ Marty just grinned wider,“ I know, I know, but how can I not bring it up? You had to wear jeans and a t-shirt for a week! I didn’t even know you had jeans.”  _

_ “As I recall you had to wear an old pullover sweater and pants too short for the same amount of time.”  _

_ Marty’s smile fell at that as he winced. “Geez, yeah I remember why we don’t mention it now.”  _

_ Shaking his head, Doc shot him a grin and gestured to the wire. _

_ “Now help me fix this, carefully, this time.”  _

_ “On it, Doc.”  _ _   
_

_   
_ “That’s it!” Marty's eyes gained focus as he realized what to do. Placing his hands like Doc had shown him he pushed down his full weight before pulling up. Counting under his breath until he got to 15 where he cupped Doc’s mouth with his own, pinched his nose and breathed out. After a moment without a reaction, Marty repeated the compressions. His arms burning quivering with the force and speed of the motions. Tears bubbled around his eyes making his vision blur once more as Doc stayed motionless. 

  
“Come on, come on, come on!  _ 9 _ ,  _ 10 _ ,  _ 11 _ . Dammit, Doc! Breathe!  _ 12 _ ,  _ 13 _ . Please God just breathe,  _ 14 _ ,  **15** !” Marty pinched his nose again and breathed into his mouth. Barely noticing the hot wet tears smearing against his cheeks and stuffing up his own nose. When Marty came up for a breath nothing had changed. He glared down at Doc’s motionless form and started again. 

“Please be okay, please, please just wake up. I can’t watch you die again Doc, Emmett, please. I’m begging I can’t do this again. I just can’t, I need you, I need you so much Doc,  _ I love you,  _ and I know you can hear me so just BREATHE!” Marty was barely aware that he was saying anything, the only thing he was focused on was the chest under his hands wasn’t moving, and even though every twitch in his arms felt like fire and his throat was closing up with his own panic and tears, he wasn’t going to stop until Doc was breathing again. The world needed Emmett Brown and even if it didn’t Marty did and that was all that mattered. 

_ 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15.  _ **_Breathe._ **


	4. Earth Angel, Won't You Be Mine?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back to Doc's POV for the last chapter. Though it kinda blurs together in the end.

Doc felt pain around his chest first. Lungs burning and ribs aching. And then suddenly there was air again and he felt himself gasp to suck it all down before it was gone. The pressure on his upper body suddenly disappeared entirely making him groan at the change. Which quickly turned into coughing as pain flushed through his entire body. Great Scott what had he done now? 

“-oc? Doc! Can you hear me?” The white noise of his pulse died down enough for Doc to hear a frantic and choked voice beside him 

Marty. 

Emmett groaned again as he struggled to pull himself up and open his eyes. Every muscle in his body felt like jelly while every nerve on the contrast felt wired and electric. Electric? Oh. He’d gotten shocked and must have fallen unconscious. Delightful. 

“DOC! Jesus Christ, say something! No, no wait, don’t move, I need to call 911, stay right there Doc! I-” 

  
  
Doc’s vision swam as he pried his eyes open. Marty was crumbled on the floor next to him, eyes teary and red, and he was trembling all over. Einie was half curled around him like a forgotten blanket, clearly trying to provide comfort. His heart constricted for an entirely new reason at the sight.  _ My poor boy. What have I done to you?  _

“Marty,” His voice practically scraped over his name but he didn’t care. His whole focus on the young man beside him. Even though his voice was hoarse and whispered, Marty’s head shot up like he had yelled. Glowing blue eyes taking up Doc’s view like a stretched out ocean. 

“Doc?” Marty’s eyes seemed to grow impossibly wide at him,  _ God had they always been so blue?  _ “Doc!” 

He didn’t get a chance to even smile when Marty launched himself at his chest. Though pain rang throughout his body, Doc didn’t hesitate to wrap his arms around the other and pull him tighter into him. Marty naturally tucked his face into his neck and his arms wounded tight around Doc’s waist, practically clinging to the scientist. Doc knew he was clutching the boy just as tight to him as he kept Marty gathered against his chest, practically in his lap. But he didn’t care, any desire for propriety and distance evaporated the moment he opened his eyes to see Marty crying over his body. Doc kissed the Now he could only focus on the trembling warmth 

It was only when Marty made some kind of whining noise did Doc even realize he was crying. “Please don’t leave me, Doc. I love you, don’t go, I can’t keep doing this. Why do you keep putting me through this?!” 

Doc felt himself stiffen as Marty’s prayers and curses. Love? 

“I mean Jesus Doc, it’s like you have a death wish and I swear to god, I’ll kill you myself Emmett, I swear to everything if you do this to me again.”   
  


“ _ I love you.” _ The words he never thought he’d hear in his lifetime came from the young man he never deserved, never dared to think he’d consider him that way, and who he had resigned himself to pine for and be content with friendship. Doc’s heart picked up and warmth flushed through him as he looked down at his boy.  _ “He loves you. Your boy, because he loves you. He loves you back.”  _ Lovelovelovelovelovelove. 

“I’m sorry, I’m not smart like you, I can’t fix everything or save you, I barely remembered CPR and every other time was because I was  _ lucky,  _ just - ” Marty’s voice finally began to crack and break down into sobs. The grief of it all finally being too much for him as he cried into Doc’s neck. 

Emmett’s cloud nine dropped at the broken sound of his love crying against him. “Oh Marty. Marty hush, listen to me. I’m so sorry for all that I’ve put you through. For every danger, injury, and moment of grief you’ve felt because of my actions. You never deserved this burden. But please don’t cry, especially over me. I’m safe and well  _ because  _ of you Marty. I am  _ alive  _ because of you. Not because of luck or coincidence but because of your actions, and you should never think otherwise.” 

Doc brought a hand to brush through Marty’s hair as he shushed the boy, his voice low and calm though full of affection and regret. “Breathe with me Future Boy, in and out. In. Out. That’s it, my boy, just like that. You’re okay Marty, I won’t let anything happen to you again. Just keep breathing.”

Doc exaggerated his breathing until Marty’s sobs turned to steady inhales and exhales. Their heartbeats in sync with their breaths. Doc pressed a kiss against his temple and smoothed back the young man’s hair. Once Marty seemed to gather himself again Doc pulled back just enough to see his face. 

“Sorry about that Doc. Didn’t mean to cry all over you like that, or to threaten to kill ya. Just kinda all got to me there when I didn’t see you move, you know?” Marty huffed a bit and rubbed at his face and eyes while avoiding Doc’s intense gaze.

“You have nothing to apologize for Marty. There is nothing wrong with crying, and after all you’ve been through, I dare say that’s been overdue.” Doc smiled tightly before cupping a hand against Marty’s cheek and tilted his head up to meet his eyes. 

“Now, Marty. I know you were under great duress earlier, and as such might not have meant what you may have said, or at least not in the way that I interpreted it, but I have to ask. Did you mean what you said earlier?”   
  


Marty scrunched his eyebrows a bit before tilting his head to look closer at Doc. “Doc, I hate to break it to you, but I said a lot of stuff. I don’t really know what you’re askin here. You’re gonna have to spell it out for me if you mean something specific.”   
  


Emmett sighed but nodded his head. He had a point. “You’re right Marty, I need to be specific. Forgive my bluntness, but I feel it would be better to be very clear after everything that transpired with Clara.” He paused for a moment to look fully at Marty, before setting his jaw. Emmett Brown didn’t shy away from discovery. No matter how terrifying.

“Marty, are you in love with me?” 

Doc saw Marty stiffen and chew on his cheek. But he stayed silent, resigned to make sure Marty came to his decision on his own and was sure.  _ “Even if he doesn’t want you like that.” _

“Yeah.” 

Doc blinked. “What?” 

Marty’s smile was sad.“I said ‘Yeah,’ Doc. I love you, have loved you since I was like 15. And I know you don’t feel the same way, I get it. I'll always be that punk kid who broke in and somehow became a friend. I wasn’t even going to tell you - though I thought you knew - but. Well, you asked, and I don’t lie to you Doc.” 

“Oh, Marty.” Emmett really couldn’t be blamed for how wide his grin was. “You’ve never been ‘that punk kid’ to me. You were at first someone who reminded me of my younger self who I wanted to help, and then you became a very dear friend. My best friend besides Einie. And then you became the brilliant young man I found myself enamored with.” 

Marty’s blue eyes were wide again. “Doc?”

“Yes, my boy?”

“Does enamored mean ‘I love you back’?” 

Doc’s electric eyes were incredibly loving as they looked back at Marty. “Yes, Marty. More than you could know.”

Both men smiled at each other before Marty pressed his mouth against Emmett’s again. Only this time he pressed back.

“ _ Earth Angel, Earth Angel, will you be mine? My darling dear, love you all the time. I’m just a fool, a fool in love with you.~” _

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you to everyone who read this! This is a completed story but I may go back and add some more later or make a sequel - no promises I'm just kinda thinking about it. Please like and comment and remember I am always up for prompts or requests or if you have any fan art or suggestions I would love to hear them! Thanks again guys, and I hope you all have a great day and are staying safe!


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